The Long Range Traverse

The Long Range Traverse is a 36.0 kilometer point-to-point trail located near Sallys Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that features a lake. The trail is rated as difficult and primarily used for hiking, camping, and backpacking. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

DISTANCE

36 km

ELEVATION GAIN

1,581 m

ROUTE TYPE

Point to Point

dogs on leash

backpacking

camping

hiking

forest

lake

river

views

wild flowers

wildlife

bugs

muddy

The Long Range Traverse across the outback of Gros Morne National Park is a must for the avid hiker. Six campsites on route allow you to plan the trip over as many days you please, although due to rugged terrain, unpredictable weather, and lack of a definitive trail park officials suggest five days to complete the hike.

Beautiful views, especially on the first day hike out of the gorge. You get lots of beautiful highlands after that. Aside from the very beginning and end, the elevations are fairly mild.

I can't overstate how wet it was. The entire landscape is boggy and absorbs the frequent rain like a sponge. You will constantly be in ankle-deep water. As such, lots of bugs. It also get quite cold (like 4°C in August at night).

Navigation is the real challenge. As they tell you, don't rely on foot paths to show you the trail, you'll need to be on your GPS pretty frequently. Note that there are multiple routes: I had the official route, the one from here, and another on my garmin. They're all somewhat different (a fact I didn't appreciate at first, to my own detriment).

The official trial is the black-track in AllTrails. It tends to go over hills, whereas the AllTrails route goes around those hills, making for a longer, flatter, and wetter trail.

I would STRONGLY suggest following the official trail on the route between Harding's Pond and Green Island Pond. We started with the AllTrails route then turned back and did the official one for this section. The two routes split right as you leave Harding's Pond, with the official trail taking you more northward into the hills. You'll get much nicer views on the official trail; the AllTrails route will be flatter, but will take you through difficult tuckamore and over a cliff right before Green Island Pond that's quite dangerous if its wet.

I would also follow the official trail on the last day's descent. The trails are a bit confusing here. I didn't see the AllTrails descent, but given the cliff it took me down the previous day, I wasn't gonna trust it.

In any event, this was a challenging hike. Not so much physically, but more because of the wetness and navigation issues. It's well worth it, though. Gorgeous.

Amazing hike. I pushed it (for me) and managed to get through with two full days of hiking and one night camping. The bugs were definitely a nuisance and I used a lot of bug spray. Generally where there's no wind you're going to find bugs. I emerged from my tent on the second day around 6am to see a large male moose feeding near the water's edge at Harding's Pond. Later on the second day I spotted a Caribou running down a distant valley. Still amazed how they can do that given all the sink-holes and boulders. The sight-lines were clear and views spectacular. Made for much easier navigation, although I did manage to get lost at one point for an hour or two. I found from getting off the boat at Western Brook Pond to my camp at Harding's Pond that the trails were pretty easy to follow. The second day I found the trails harder to follow, interspersed with game trails, faded or non-existent and needed the compass several times to navigate. From Green Island Pond onward, the trail was pretty distinct and easy to follow all the way to the parking lot. Ferry Gultch is where the trail meets that of the day-hikers who go to Gros Morne, so the trail is very well-traveled from that point to the parking lot. I learned what "Tuckamore" is on this hike. Picture walking into a thick hedge will full gear and wondering as you plow through whether its twenty feet to the other side or half a mile. Sometimes not possible to avoid. Other challenge is the mud. It's rich, black, and seems like it could swallow you whole with a wrong step. I was once literally up to my knee and had to grab onto a branch to pull my leg out against the suction. I highly recommend hiking poles. They were invaluable when walking through the tall grass to poke in front and locate the countless rocks and sink-holes you'll encounter, as well as helping push away branches in the tuckamore. A high point was discovering "bakeapple berries". They are plentiful along the hike and yes they do taste like baked apples. They seemed to all be ripe while I was hiking (mid-August) so I lucked out and was continuously picking-eating along the trail. All in all, an amazing experience that I hope to do again.

Hiked the first week of July, it was early spring time conditions which meant the bugs were not bad, we still had to traverse snowy sections and the grass was just starting to grow. Amazing part of the world! It’s difficulty made it that much more rewarding and the views are incredible!

Fantastic hike, I’ve done it twice now, like others have said be prepared for a gruelling first day while you walk up and out of Western Brook.

Be aware of moose & caribou leads as they’re easily mistaken for trails and can lead you the wrong way.

Camping sites have tent pads and bear boxes for easy storage and comfort.

Map and compass skills are a great asset to have on this hike in case of gps failure. Plus it’s always a good time to dust off the ol’ M&C skills and just use them for a pretty authentic hiking experience.

well worth the effort to access this trail. the views are breathtaking! the first day is challenging as it is a continuous climb so start early in the day to reach the top with time to set up camp before sun set. this trail is very popular so there are many paths. don't trust someone else's path. follow your GPS and map. the last portion of trail is very popular as you meet up with day hikers summiting gros morne mountain. enjoy bragging to them about your epic trip. you deserve it!

Did this hike along with the North Rim to make it a little longer and glad I did. Very beautiful and rugged landscape. Had to check in at park HQ and get a caribou tracker in case I didn't come back and they would be able to find me. Took a cab to the Western Brook ferry and from there headed north. Spent my first night on the beach and after that all signage disappears so be ready to use GPS and orientation to find your way. There is no real trail and once you get going any sign of footprints or beaten path are intermittent. The bugs can be bad but it's usually windy so that helps keep them off. Water isn't an issue as there are plenty of small ponds along the way. There are a few basic wood platforms to set up a tent with bear bins along the way but honestly you can camp anywhere it's flat. Hiked it in September and really lucked out with the weather. Beautiful mostly untouched wilderness, can't recommend this one enough.